Where’s the Industry Optimism?

Everywhere you click, it’s difficult not to see a negative news article about renewable energy in the United States. Very few days go by that a project has been derailed or flat-out failed by the current political landscape. And the impact is both upstream and downstream–land and water project development, project financing, manufacturing costs, and even active construction on permitted projects are all being affected and at risk. As a naturally optimistic person, it's even difficult for me to remain positive given the volume of negativity in the daily news cycle. So amidst the endless stream of bleak headlines, isn't it ironic that 91% of added energy generation this year is from renewables? As energy prices rise across the country (my PJM 20% increase hit in June!), Democrats hope to leverage this messaging as they prepare for a midterm battle. The graph below sums up the severity and scale of the ambush delivered by the Trump Administration.

While the rest of the world views renewable energy as a way to rapidly and effectively meet the demand for energy and energy independence, the US renewable industry is becoming more partisan by the hour, ignorantly slowing and stalling any progress or growth. According to BloombergNEP, global investments in clean tech for the first half of 2025 are up (at a record pace) but comparable US investments are down by 36%.

While wind and solar energy are violently under attack, energy storage may offer a bright spot of hope. There are more energy storage projects coming online in 2025 than wind and natural gas combined. Big offgrid, scalable, campus-style projects like this 5GW from Pacifico Energy also address the growing demand for data center electricity stability.

I’ve been fascinated with energy storage since I attended my first Energy Storage Association Conference back in 2016. EnergeiaWorks landed our first energy storage customer in 2017, Demand Energy (later acquired by Enel), as they were expanding their sales and technical teams for a BTM battery storage control system software.

Oftentimes, you can find me geeking out on my Enphase app when I log into my home energy storage system. The One Big Beautiful Bill gave energy storage tax breaks incentives through 2033 though not without hurdles. Developers still need to navigate the FEOC (Foreign Entities of Concern) restrictions for asset owners and a Chinese dominated supply chain that is subject to steep tariffs. The infrastructure transition in Texas for energy storage has been fast and proven the model for grid stability, and other States are watching. New York just started their first RFP process for a 6GW initiative and New Jersey for a 2GW mandate. They join California, Arizona, and Nevada as leads in energy storage development as they aim to lower costs for rate payers and make the grid more reliable all while making it cleaner. Here are some details on the 17 states who have energy storage policies — look for that number to grow significantly!

What Does This Mean for Job Growth?

As the demand for more energy storage grows, so will the employment market. Opportunities exist in engineering, project development, power origination, manufacturing, installation, and maintenance. Not surprisingly, Texas and California have the largest talent pool of energy storage professionals, but we’re seeing an employment surge in New York and Massachusetts. There are currently about 90,000 energy storage jobs in the United States (68% coming from battery storage). About 500,000 are employed in the US solar, wind, and energy storage industries, but I expect the sector to shift in the next few years, with an opportunity for professionals to reskill in energy storage. Interest rate has decimated small scale solar the past two years. That, along with the ITC expiration looming in December, we can expect to see more bankruptcies. Offshore and onshore wind development is being hit really hard; even transmission projects supporting utility-scale project development in renewable energy is at a standstill. While engineering and construction hires are currently busy, we’re already seen the project development hiring being pulled back in these areas.

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